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Who Made That Adirondack Chair?

By Hilary Greenbaum June 28, 2011 8:36 amJune 28, 2011 8:36 am

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“To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, Harry C. Bunnell, a citizen of the United States, residing at Westport, in the county of Essex and the State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Chairs. … ” So begins patent number 794,777, dated July 18, 1905, in reference to what we commonly refer to as the Adirondack Chair. With its signature slanted back and wide armrests, the recognizable profile of this outdoor recliner has become a trademark of summer in America. Despite the patent filed over a hundred years ago, though, Harry Bunnell, a carpenter and shop owner, was not actually the one who created the chair’s design.

Thomas Lee, reportedly a friend of Bunnell’s, created the first Adirondack chairs in 1903 for his family. “Nailing boards together on the front lawn, he asked other members of his family to test prototypes and tell him which were the most comfortable. With this research as a guide, he built a chair with a sloping seat and back. Each chair was made from a single pine board and with the wide armrests that became a hallmark of the Adirondack style. His chair was an immediate success with the family,” according to the Shaw Creek General Store. To aid Bunnell’s carpentry shop during the winter months, Lee offered him the chair design so that Bunnell could manufacture and sell them at his store. Bunnell accepted Lee’s offer but also went ahead and applied for a patent in his own name for Lee’s design.

Lee was apparently not informed of this until after the patent had already been granted, but as Bunnell continued to produce the “Westport Chairs” (with the patent number stamped on the back) for the next 25 years, by all accounts it seems Lee did not take any official steps to reclaim the rights of the design or prevent his friend from profiting from them.

An image from the original patent application.

Since that time, the design of the chair has evolved in various ways, but its signature design elements seem to clearly trace back to the handiwork of Thomas Lee and the art direction of his family members. In his efforts to furnish his own yard, he inadvertently created an icon, but he never showed interest in pursuing it past his patio.

Bruce Grierson wrote this week’s cover story about Ellen Langer, a Harvard psychologist who has conducted experiments that involve manipulating environments to turn back subjects’ perceptions of their own age.Read more…